As far as jockey Mike Luzzi is concerned, 52 is the new 27
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – When jockey Mike Luzzi guided R Doc to victory at Aqueduct in a maiden $40,000 claimer on Jan. 16, it was the 3,553rd win of his career and the 35th consecutive year in which he has ridden at least one winner.
Though the wins are fewer and farther between than they once were, the desire Luzzi has to continue to ply his trade has not waned. Even at age 52.
“To me, I still got some good riding left,” Luzzi said recently. “I’m getting a lot of ‘nos’ as far as mounts go. The only excuse I get is my age. There are guys still out there doing it who are older than me.”
Luzzi won the Eclipse Award as leading apprentice in 1989. Included his 3,500-plus victories are 73 graded stakes triumphs. He has battled back from injuries time and again. The most recent injury occurred last June when he broke his ankle in a freak accident behind the gate at Belmont Park. He missed three months. In 2014, he suffered a fractured pelvis and broken leg, but he came back 10 months later.
“Every injury you get there’s somebody who says, ‘Are you going to retire?’ ” Luzzi said. “Every time I had gotten hurt, the only thing in my mind was to get back. I never thought about retiring.”
Luzzi said if one adds up all the time he’s missed due to injury, it’s about five years. But he says he’s as healthy now as he’s ever been and feels great.
“When I go in the gate and put the goggles down, I feel like I’m 27,” Luzzi said.
Luzzi is emphatic about staying in New York to ride. He said he tried Oaklawn Park one winter and it didn’t work out. He spent a brief period of time in Sam Houston riding with his son Lane, and while he enjoyed the time spent with his son, his own business didn’t grow.
“If my son ever came to New York to ride, I’d probably stop then, but he’s a few years away from that,” Luzzi said. “I feel like I still can do it as good as any of these guys. There is a lot of talent in this room.”